Friday, December 18, 2015

Saints will eventually judge men and angels

Revelation 14-

VERSE 13.   And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors; and their works do follow them.   14.    And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle.  15.   And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe.  16.   And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped.

(Excerpt from Daniel and Revelation by Uriah Smith 1897-1911)

A Solemn Crisis. -  Events grow solemn as we near the end. It is this fact which gives to the third angel's message, now going forth, its unusual degree of solemnity and importance. It is the last warning to go forth prior to the coming of the Son of man, here represented as seated upon a white cloud, a crown upon his head, and a sickle in his hand, to

p 677 -- reap the harvest of the earth. We are fast passing over a line of prophecy which culminates in the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven in flaming fire, to take vengeance on his foes, and to reward his saints. Not only so, but we have come so near its accomplishment that the very next link in the chain is this crowning and momentous event. And time never rolls back. As the river does not flinch and fly as it approaches the precipice, but bears all floating bodies over with resistless power; and as the seasons never reverse their course, but summer follows in the path of the budding fig-tree, and winter treads close upon the falling leaf; so we are borne onward and onward, whether we will or not, whether prepared or not, to the unavoidable and irreversible crisis. Ah! how little dream the proud professor and the careless sinner of the doom that is impending! And how hard for even those who know and profess the truth to realize it as it is!

A Blessing Promise. -  John is commanded by a voice from heaven to write, "Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth;" and the response of the Spirit is, "Yea, that they may rest from their labors; and their works do follow them."  "From henceforth" must signify from some particular point of time. What point? - Evidently from the commencement of the message in connection with which this is spoken. But why are those who die after this point of time blessed? There must be some special reason for pronouncing this benediction upon. them. Is it not because they escape the time of fearful peril which the saints are to encounter as they close their pilgrimage? And while they are thus blessed in common with all the righteous dead, they have an advantage over them in being, doubtless, that company spoken of in Dan.12:2, who are raised to everlasting life at the standing up of Michael. Thus, escaping the perils through which the rest of the 144,000 pass, they rise, and share with them in their final triumph here, and occupy with them their pre-eminent place in the kingdom.  1   In this way, we understand, their

1 -- Those who die after having become identified with the third angel's message, are evidently numbered as a part of the 144,000; for this message is the same as the sealing message of Revelation 7, and by that message only 144,000 were sealed. But there are many who have had their entire religious experience under this message, but have fallen in death. They die in the Lord, and hence are counted as sealed; for they will be saved. But the message results in the sealing of only 144,000; therefore these must be included in that number. Being raised in the special resurrection (Dan. 12:2; Rev. 1:7) which occurs when the voice of God is uttered from the temple, at the beginning of the seventh and last plague (Rev. 16:17; Joel 3:16; Heb. 12:26), they pass through the period of that plague, and hence may be said to come "out of great tribulation" (Rev. 7:14), and being raised from the grave only to mortal life, they take their stand with believers who have not died, and with them receive immortality at the last trump (1 Cor. 15:52), being then, with the others, changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye. Thus, though they have passed through the grave, it can be said of them at last, that they are "redeemed from among men" (Rev. 14:4), that is, from among the living; for the coming of Christ finds them among the living, waiting for the change to immortality, like those who have not died, and as if they themselves had never died.

p 678 -- works follow them: these works are held in remembrance, to be rewarded at the judgment; and the persons receive the same recompense that they would have had, had they lived and faithfully endured all the perils of the time of trouble.

It will be noticed that in this line of prophecy, three angels precede the Son of man on the white cloud, and three are introduced after that symbol. The opinion has already been expressed that literal angels are engaged in the scenes here described. The first three have charge of the three special messages, and may also symbolize a body of religious teachers. The message of the fourth angel is evidently to be uttered after the Son of man, having finished his priestly work, takes his seat upon the white cloud, but before he appears in the clouds of heaven. As the language is addressed to Him who is seated upon the white cloud, having in his hand a sharp sickle ready to reap, it must denote a message of prayer on the part of the church, after their work for the world is done and probation has ceased, and nothing remains but for the Lord to appear and take his people to himself. It is doubtless the day-and-night cry spoken of by our Lord in Luke 18:7, 8 in connection with the coming of the Son of man. And this prayer will be answered; the elect will be avenged; for does not the parable read, "And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him?" He that is seated upon the cloud will thrust in his sickle, and the saints, under the figure of the wheat of the earth, will be gathered into the heavenly garner.

The Wheat Garnered. - "And he that sat on the cloud," says the prophecy, "thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped." By this language we are carried down past the second advent, with its accompanying scenes of destruction

p 679 -- to the wicked and salvation to the righteous. Beyond these scenes we must therefore look for the application of the following verses: -

VERSE 17.  And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle.  18.   And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe.  19.   And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.  20.   And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.

The last two angels have to do with the wicked, - the wicked, most fitly represented by the bloated and purple clusters of the vine of the earth. May it not be that the closing doom of that class at the end of the thousand years is here presented, the prophecy thus making a final disposition of both the righteous and the wicked; the righteous clothed with immortality, and safely established in the kingdom, the wicked perishing around the city at the time of its ultimate location upon the earth?

This can hardly be applied at the time of the second advent; for events are here given in chronological order; and the destruction of the wicked would be contemporaneous with the gathering of the righteous. Again, the living wicked at Christ's coming drink of the "cup"of his indignation; but this passage brings to view the time when they perish in the "winepress" of his wrath, which is said to be trodden "without the city," answering completely to the description of Rev. 20:9; and this latter expression would more naturally denote their complete and final destruction.

The angel comes out of the temple, where the records are kept and the punishment is determined. The other angel has power over fire. This may have some connection with the fact that fire is the element by which the wicked are at last to be destroyed, although, to carry out the figure, the wicked, having been likened to the clusters of' the vine of the earth, are said to be cast into the great winepress, which is trodden without

p 680 -- the city. And blood comes out of the winepress, even to the horses' bridles. We know that the wicked are doomed to be swallowed up at last in a flood of all-devouring flame descending from God out of heaven; but what preceding slaughter may take place among the doomed host, we know not. It is not improbable that this language will be literally fulfilled. As the first four angels of this series denoted a marked movement on the part of the people of God, the last two may denote the same; for the saints are to have some part to act in meting out and executing the final punishment of the wicked. I Cor. 6:2; Ps. 149:9.

The Saints Triumphant. - Thus closes this chain of prophecy - closes as others close, with the complete triumph of God and Christ over all their foes, and with the glorious salvation that awaits the faithful followers of the Prince of life, forever secured. 

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1Co 6:2  Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?
1Co 6:3  Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?

Psa 149:9  To execute upon them the judgment written: this honour have all his saints. Praise ye the LORD.

Truth. Our worth is found only in Christ Jesus our Lord, this is truth.

We know what is to come as if we are truly looking through a glass darkly.

1Co 13:12  For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.

We know in part.  We know what, by the grace of God, we are allowed to know. May the Holy Spirit give us FULL understanding of ALL we need to know, may the eye salve infuse our eyes with spiritual sight that we need in these very last day.

All by the grace, the mercy, the will of our God, and our Savior, Jesus Christ, our Lord now and forever, amen!

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